My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

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Britt-Marie always dresses very presentably and modestly. She has the distinct habit of brushing dust off her skirt that only she seems to see. She also has "really nice" hair [1]according to Ben and Ingrid. What did you think of Britt-Marie when you first encountered her? Did she remind you of anyone in your life? Where do you think Britt-Marie goes at the end of the novel? Britt-Marie, at the age of 63, is constrained to look for a job after her husband Kent has left her for another younger woman. She has led a dependent life for many years, has no friends, but is determined now to stand on her own feet. Her persistence in seeking a job at the employment exchange causes the lady there to get exasperated, and yet grows to later love her for her plain-speak, courage and uncorrupted world view. In many ways she is plain, literal and gullible, but has strong values & work ethics. She is obsessed with cleanliness and is forever in a cleaning mode with bicarbonate of soda or Faxin. She finds a temporary position as a caretaker in the small town of Borg, where almost everything seems to be winding up and people losing hope. In a curious turn of events, she ends up becoming the football coach for a bunch of kids. That is not to say this book is fluffy, because it’s not. There are plenty poignant and emotional moments expertly woven into this humorous and whimsical story which features a precocious seven -year old girl named Elsa.

The Kingdom of Miamas I swear sounded to me like Myalis, which sounds like a prescription drug for erectile dysfunction in my non-fantasy world. The animal which I guess was just a big dog but never called a dog sounded like it was called a Worse or Worser (reminding me of Wrong and Wronger ala Alec Baldwin). After digging around some, I find it was Wurse and Wurses, but I don't think that's an actual word. This dog/Wurse was constantly being fed chocolate, which is actually quite dangerous for our furry friends and should not be encouraged. Very dangerous. Little Elsa, 7 going on 8, was more like 7 going on 17. Much too smart and worldly for 7 going on 8, no matter how much she used Wikipedia. Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy—as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman was a delightful and stimulating read.

The first few chapters of "Britt-Marie" are slow going. It's wonderful seeing her in a wholly new situation, adapting to circumstances beyond her limited imagination. It takes a little while to get a handle on the town of Borg and its quirky inhabitants. That's because Borg is an unusual place and because Britt-Marie is wary of each new person and every new situation. Once the book gets going it hits notes high and low with the precision of a soccer ball hitting a soda can. I laughed, I cried, I rooted for Britt-Marie and the quirky inhabitants of Borg all the way through the unexpected, and perfect, ending. After forty years of being a housewife and completing hundreds of crosswords, she regarded herself as a highly educated person and did not think it would be difficult to find a job as a sixty-three-year-old woman. Her husband, Kent, said the economic recession was over. How difficult could it be? Discuss the role that books, especially the Harry Potter novels, play in Elsa’s life. Why do you think Elsa relates to the Harry Potter books more than other novels? When you were growing up, were there books you particularly loved? Which ones and why? Elsa is “different.” So is Granny (a major understatement). The book has been dinged by several reviewers as being unrealistic. Well, yeah, maybe, but sometimes that little sore point can be overlooked—like with this book. And I have to say, once it became clear the fantasy part plays a major role in understanding the whole meaning of Elsa’s journey, I decided to change my crappy attitude and go all in. By that point I even thought it might be possible for the tale to wring 4 stars out of me. The plot is unique and really quite profound. Elsa is sent on a “treasure hunt” by her grandmother that requires Elsa to meet everyone in their apartment building. There are specific reasons for Granny to do this. The task is not easy for Elsa, but it turns out to be seriously rewarding. The characters are diverse, very sympathetic, and memorable. I love these books about elderly people and their effect on young children who are “different.” Another thing—this story is quirky and is unlike any I have read before. Major points for that.

An intriguing read. I would not call it hilarious, but it was certainly humorous and heart-warming.

The novel suffers from a slow start. There is a fairy tale device that is interweaved into the narrative that never fully grabbed me, and it took me most of the book to buy into it. Other readers I know jumped right into that aspect of the text. To each his own, right? However, the last half of the book I thought was strong narratively, things started to fall into place for me with the fairy tale device, and from that point on I was fully in. I liked so much about this novel. Elsa and those who surround her are intriguing, unpredictable, wonderfully “flawed” individuals—probably least of all her parents (and her stepfather) who are perhaps the most “normal,” least quirky of the batch. Elsa is unapologetically direct and relentlessly inquisitive. I listened to the audio and am very curious if my experience of Elsa, had I read the book first (and maybe even of Granny), would have been different or not? Elsa’s voice in the audio book was much like Granny’s voice actually, much older than her eight years. She is not a cute, sweet “almost eight-year-old”—utterly endearing yes, but only if one accepts her completely as she is. If you merely drive through Borg its easy to notice only the places that have been closed down. You have to slow down to see what's still there. There are people in Borg. There are rats and Zimmer-frames and greenhouses. Wooden fences and white jerseys and lit candles. Newly laid turf and sunny stories.'